Charley in Arcadia

I joined a group of seven folks from Clearwater visiting Arcadia today (Saturday). Arcadia is a small "old Florida" town on State Road 70, east of Bradenton. Charley visited Arcadia two weeks ago and left part of it a shambles. Most of the damage was caused by trees but the wind peeled roofing materials up, ripped sheds and signs apart, and tore some of the homes into rubble. But, some of the homes and buildings were unscathed. Talk about the "Flying Fickle Finger of Fate!" We spent several hours cutting up trees and hauling the debris to the road.

Here's a question for the engineers I know: How much force is required to break a pine tree? Visualize a tall, healthy pine with a trunk diameter of two feet. The break occurs 8 to 10 feet above the ground. The lower trunk and roots are still in place, and the upper part of the tree is lying on the ground, still attached where the break occurred. I wish I had a photo to show you but if you break a toothpick with your thumb you'll get the idea. Now, visualize that kind of wind tearing through your neighborhood and you'll begin to get the bigger picture.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.